


From the Coldness of Danger and Loneliness to the Warmth of Love

by SpencnerTibbsLuvr (KliqzAngel)



Series: When Tony Met Jack and Vise Versa [4]
Category: Criminal Minds, NCIS, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: AU for Brian’s Background, AU for John Sheppard’s Background, AU for Spencer’s Background, AU for Tony’s Background, Angst, F/M, M/M, New Relationship, SEAL!Tony, Tony was Never with NCIS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-08 19:54:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13465413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KliqzAngel/pseuds/SpencnerTibbsLuvr
Summary: As Tony sat huddling on PYX-137 from a cold night that none of them had been prepared for, he could only hope that he could find a way to get them all out of this before they froze to death. He should have known Jack would come to the rescue, and that his chosen father, Patrick Sheppard, would find a way to get him the one person he needed to see the most when he was summoned home.





	1. Cold and Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Spencer Reid as a Sheppard is being used with the approval of Rivermoon1970. I will hopefully be playing with him again. I AU’d just about everyone in this story. So, if anything matches cannon consider it a happy coincidence. This was written for the January Forever Angst Challenge. The Theme is “Warm Thoughts To Chase Winter Blues”. There was a 5K max for each part of the theme Warm thoughts and Winter Blues, or a 10K max if you combined them as I did.

 

# Chapter One: Cold and Alone

 

 

Tony sat huddled against a mound of rocks not far from the Stargate. He was fucking freezing and needed a few moments to get some feeling back into his fingers before he finished patrolling the area again. Normally, he would have just muscled through the discomfort, but a lot of the area he was checking was open ground and the wind had picked up making it feel even colder. He just hoped that those he'd left by the Stargate were protected enough.

 

When he realized that he was grinding his teeth together, he forced them to stop knowing it would only turn his stress headache into a full-blown migraine. Something that he seriously couldn't afford. Lt. Commander Anthony Dominic DiNozzo, Jr had been a part of the US Navy since he got out of Military School. When he'd been sent to Remington Military Academy the last thing that he expected was for anything to stick. He'd been an angry and lonely kid whose father hated him just because he existed and had lost the only parent who gave anything resembling a damn about him. To say he had been a handful was an understatement. But then one day John Sheppard stumbled into his life and changed his outlook on just about everything.

 

The two of them had been sophomores, and John's father had been unhappy about his son's insistence on going into the military and just wanted him out of his hair. To Tony, the fact that the older man sent him to a Military Academy should indicate that he cared at least a little bit, but John didn't see it that way. His mother had, like Tony's, died. John's mother died when he was 13 and Tony's had died when he was 8 Like Tony, his father hadn't handled it well. Unlike Tony, prior to his mother's death, his father had been a good man who adored his wife and children. It was after she was gone that everything went to hell.

 

Somehow the two sullen boys had bonded over crappy fathers and forged a friendship that lasted to that day. Despite the fact that it had been a few years since he'd actually seen John, there was no doubt in Tony's mind that if he needed him the man would move heaven and earth to get there. Their connection was so strong that Tony had two of John's younger brothers on his team.

 

The youngest Sheppard, Aiden, had gone to the Naval Academy directly from High School and BUD/s directly from the Naval Academy. Tony had spent all of his breaks and holiday vacations with the Sheppard's after he and John met. Unlike Senior, who didn't want to have anything to do with the child he couldn't stand, Patrick wanted his son around and had been willing to take in Tony to get to see him. Having witnessed numerous arguments between John and Patrick Sheppard over the various visits, it wasn't that Tony thought John didn't have a reason to be upset with his father. He knew very well that he had all the reason in the world to be upset. He could even see where John could belive that his father didn't care.

 

However, having come from a father who truly didn't give a shit about his son, Tony simply knew that wasn't the case with Patrick. If he really didn't care, then he'd never have tolerated his son's friend being around every time John came home. He also would not have moved heaven and earth to get Aiden into the Naval Academy. The problem was there was so much anger and pain and too many misunderstandings caused by two men who didn't speak as much as they should that neither of them really knew what the other really felt. They were each also too damned stubborn to be the one to make the first move.

 

After they graduated from Remington Military Academy, Tony and John's paths split. John went to Stanford to get a degree that he hoped would satisfy his father before he went into the Navy to become a pilot and eventually ended up at Miramar in San Diego at the US Navy Fighter Weapons School aka Top Gun. Tony, however, went directly into the Naval Academy and then into the SEAL program where he'd been ever since. Tony had been fascinated by Aiden Sheppard and been happy to have the little boy around whenever he went to the Sheppard home. When the teenager announced that he wanted to follow Tony's path, the then SEAL had been honored and vowed to do whatever he could for the boy.

 

At the time, he'd been worried that things between himself and the Sheppard's would deteriorate when Aiden made his announcement. However, Patrick, who was already regretting the estrangement between himself and his eldest son, only asked that he look out for his boy as much as he could. To keep his promise, Tony had done what he could to get the youngest Sheppard on his team once he'd successfully completed BUD/s and had kept him by his side ever since. Something he had questioned the sanity of a few times. His current predicament being one of them.

 

When the Navy came knocking on his door and told him that they needed him for a special posting that they couldn't discuss until he agreed, he'd been reluctant to accept. When they'd offered the same posting to Aiden, and the kid had looked at him with hope and excitement lighting up his eyes, he'd known that he'd be going to parts  unknown. Never though had he expected those unknown places to be on other worlds. As much as he worried though, he trusted Aiden to have his back and knew once he regained consciousness that he'd be fine. It was the other Sheppard on his team that he worried about the most.

 

Spencer Patrick Reid was the son of Diana Reid and Patrick Sheppard and was born a year before Aiden. Patrick and his wife Elizabeth had been going through a rough patch. It was the first time she'd gotten sick, and not wanting to scare her family, the wife and mother had simply announced that she was leaving. Patrick had taken it quite hard, and for almost a year he'd lost himself in work and a string of affairs. Eventually, he'd decided he needed answers and went after his estranged wife. Upon finding that she'd left because of an illness, he'd brought her home and hired the best doctors in the world to treat her.

 

Before she could be healed though she found out that she was pregnant with Aiden. For her, the choice was simple. Her child's life was much more important than her own. Patrick had been upset and argued with her until she pointed out that it was her body, and she wasn't killing her child. For her, the tiny little being inside of her was already as loved as her other two children. In the end, Patrick came around, and when she died giving birth he might have forgotten he needed to keep going if it weren't for the small brown haired bundle he was now responsible for.

 

Roughly three years after his wife had died, Patrick Sheppard found out he had a fourth son named Spencer. It wasn't the first time a woman claimed that she had given birth to his child, but this one he remembered. Diana had been a bright and sassy beautiful woman, but it had been her sharp mind and sharper wit that attracted him. When she'd shown up at Sheppard Industries with her 5-year-old son, he'd agreed to talk with her. Upon learning that the boy was his, and she couldn't care for him any longer because of her schizophrenia, he'd agreed to take him in. The lawyers had a fit, and eventually, when the science caught up he had a DNA test run to shut them up. As a kid though, neither Tony nor any of the kids knew anything about any of that.

 

All Tony knew was that Spencer was one of John's brothers and had a different mother. By the time he was 16, Tony's father was getting ready to marry his fourth wife. He'd always been prepared for the idea that he could have a sibling out there somewhere. For the three Sheppard boys, while they had varying reactions to their father having a child by someone who wasn't their mom, none of them were willing to take it out on the quiet and scarily intelligent 4-year-old little boy.

 

After Remington, Tony and John had been forced to keep in contact mainly by letters, and the occasional phone call when they could. Tony had desperately missed the family when he wasn't around them anymore, and initially, he hadn't felt right intruding when he and John weren't in each other's pockets every day anymore. However, he'd only been given the Thanksgiving break on his own. When Christmas break began, he'd found one of the SI employees waiting at his dorm to take him to the family home. Once there, Patrick had greeted him as if he was his own child. For Tony, it had meant everything in the world. Patrick had advised him that whatever was between himself and John was just that, and none of them wanted it to affect his relationship with any of them. They all essentially thought of him as another brother, and that was that.

 

Tony had been trying to work on John, and lately, it seemed that it may be working. He honestly thought that if he could get the two elder Sheppard's in the same room that it would be the final push they needed to get things worked out. Unfortunately, now that he and John were both so far into the secretive side of the NAVY it was a lot harder than you'd think. He wasn't giving up though. He was going to see to it that the Sheppard family was reunited if it was the last goddamned thing he did.

 

Deciding that he'd been in one spot long enough, Tony stood and finished his patrol swearing that in the future he would make sure they were prepared for any fucking climate when they stepped through that damned gate. When he reached the area where he'd left the others, he was glad to see that Leyak had gotten the fire started and that Brian appeared to be stirring. Master Chief Brian O'Connor  and Leyak Mer'moyak along with Aiden were the three regular members of his SG-21 SEAL Team. Leyak was an innocent 20-something looking young woman that was deadlier than all three of the SEALs on his team combined.

 

Leyak came from a planet whose inhabitants reminded Tony mostly of what most humans would relate to the Demons they saw on TV shows. When the team stumbled upon her, she was about to be murdered for being too ‘weak' because of her half-breed status. Not willing to watch her die, Tony had killed her main attacker as Brian and Aiden kept the rest of the beings back. What he hadn't expected that doing what he saw as being the right thing would put her in his debt for the remainder of his life.

 

Fortunately, this wasn't the first alien that came home with a team, and Teal'c had been familiar enough with her people that he stressed what a great dishonor they would be doing her to deny her request to serve Tony in something of a guardian or champion role. It turned out that, once they saw her in action, Leyak was as badass as anyone he'd ever met. Watching her and Teal'c spar was something of beauty and awe. Many a man and being had underestimated her and paid the price for it.

 

"O'Connor is coming around," Leyak advised and Tony nodded kneeling down beside his longtime SIC. Tony had met Brian O'Connor in BUD/s and the two of them had been practically inseparable since. Brian was another member of the crappy father club and had taken to coming home with him and Aiden when he could. The blond was as easy going as it came, right up until he wasn't. Then there was simply no containing him. You just had to hold on and hope that you survived the explosion. Nodding his thanks to Leyak, Tony glanced up at the gate not sure what he expected to see, but nothing had changed while he'd been gone.

 

Standing, he moved to check on Aiden and Spencer who he'd laid together hoping it would help them stay warm. Aiden was a big guy coming in at 6'5" and somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 pounds of solid muscle. Spencer though, while he was 6'1" he was slight in stature and didn't have near the amount of body mass that his half-brother did to protect him from the cold.

 

He didn't think that he'd ever forgotten the first time he'd seen Spencer Reid-Sheppard. He'd been this little boy with big eyes hidden behind these glasses that were too big for his face, and a mind that could already out think a great number of the adults around him. It was obvious that he missed his mother something terribly, and Tony always wondered if Spencer hadn't gotten it the best and at the same time worst when it came to mothers. While he could at least go and see his mother any time he wished, often she was lost inside her own mind, or to the cruelty of her illness. He knew it was hard for the younger man, and unlike Aiden, there hadn't been anything he could do to help.

 

When General Hammond called him into his office and asked him if he'd consider taking Spencer on his team on a trial basis to see if he was a fit, Tony'd thought the man had been joking. While he loved Spencer to death and was fiercely proud of all he'd accomplished at the FBI, he couldn't imagine Spencer on a field team let alone his, which was run like a SEAL team.

 

Hammond though had explained that there had been some trouble with Spencer and Jason Gideon. Tony didn't know much about the man, except that he was the father of the girl Spencer had been seeing for several years, and that he saw the older man as something of a mentor. Unfortunately, it seemed that something happened, and after suffering a mental breakdown something had gone wrong in Jason's head when it came to the young genius. Tony still didn't know all of the details. Hammond and Jack O'Neill both had ordered him to leave it alone and not look into it. Jack had straight up told him that he knew Tony well enough that if he got any more details they'd be locking him up for murder.

 

That hadn't been much of a deterrent though, and in the end, it was Spencer's painful admission that Jason had already cost him Tara, and please could he not let him take Tony away from him too. There hadn't been anything else Tony could say about the broken plea and had let it be as long as Jason Gideon stayed the fuck away from his little brother. Since Jack O'Neill promised him that he would personally ensure it, Tony agreed to let it drop. As he watched the younger man lay on the cold ground, he could only hope and pray that he'd make it back alive.

 

He had no idea what he'd tell Patrick if one of his sons died on Tony's watch.

 

To say that he'd been skeptical about having Spencer on his team, no matter how proud Tony was of his accomplishments as a member of the BAU, was an understatement. Tony's team with the SGC wasn't much different mission wise than his team with the SEALs had been. There were just fewer of them, and they'd let him have a woman on the team. Each member of his team though was deadly in their own right. They were all skilled in a variety of things with killing being just one of them. Spencer though, while he may have killed when it was needed, would never be mistaken as having the same mindset as the rest of them did. No matter how badass he was in his own way, Tony would never stop thinking of him as delicate and one of the few really fucking purely good things in the world.  Hammond though insisted that his team needed someone of Spencer's talents.

 

It was eventually Spencer who made him stop arguing. "I can do this, AJ," he'd said quietly as his fingers twisted together while he studied some spot on the floor. "I won't embarrass you. I promise." It wasn't the words as much as the tone. He hadn't heard that wounded and broken sound in the kid's voice since he actually was a kid. It immediately made him want to kill someone.

 

Tony had soon after gone to Jack and made him swear that Jason Gideon had or would pay for whatever the fuck he'd done to Spencer, and that if anything ever happened to him when he was out on a mission, Spencer would be the SGC's top priority. "You have my word," Jack said quietly and seriously with a glint in his eye that told Tony the older man understood. He had no doubt that he did. After all, there was a lot between himself and the Colonel that went unspoken. Hearing Aiden moan, Tony settled on the ground after motioning Leyak over and after unzipping his coat, pulled Spencer to his chest to try and keep him warm. Eventually, Brian made his way over and settled himself in front of Spencer to try and help block the wind. Tony's eyes moved back toward the gate and the final chevron to dial home that was just blinking like warning light on his car right before something blew up. He hoped to God that whatever was going on was fixed soon. It was only a matter of time before someone or something realized they were there.

 

The cold wasn't the only thing that they had to worry about on PYX-137. When the gate finally connected it was almost too late.

 

Tony had the group huddled as close to the steps to the Stargate as possible. The final chevron had stopped blinking hours ago and when they'd tried to dial in again nothing had happened. Trusting Jack to not abandon them, Tony moved the team as close to the gate as possible. Unfortunately, not long after that their luck ran out, and the creatures of the night came out to feed. It was so frigid that their hands were almost completely stiffened up from the cold.

 

Spencer was awake, but just barely. He didn't do much more than just blink at them and shiver. Because of that, they had him in the middle of the circle the rest of them had formed to fight off the creatures. The situation though was becoming dire. They were all almost out of ammunition, and once that happened it would be only a matter of minutes before they were devoured by the seemingly unending pack of creatures that wanted to feed on them.

 

Tony had been in a lot of desperate situations as a SEAL, but he couldn't remember the last time that he felt that fucking hopeless and scared. Dying for his country and even his planet was one thing. Dying because he couldn't fucking dial his home planet and ended up the midnight snack of something that looked like a cross between an alligator and Rottweiler was another. When the gate began dialing, none of them even noticed despite the fact that they were right next to the thing. It wasn't until he realized there was gunfire coming from another direction that he realized help had come.

 

"Going my way?" Jack hollered when Tony finally looked up and saw the maniac grinning down at him as he kept shooting at things.

 

"Jesus, talk about a late entrance, motherfucker," Tony growled and flung his gun around to lie against his back. Moving to Spencer he picked him up, ignoring the squeak of indignancy as he practically tossed him up to the gate.

 

"Jack! He's gonna need help!"

 

He only waited long enough to see Jack nod his understanding before turning back to fight off the advancing creatures. Vaguely, he heard Jack order Teal'c to see to Spencer's safety as he ordered the rest of his team to move up to the gate. As quickly as possible, the remaining four joined  where SG1 and SG-3 were firing from. Standing next to Jack, he kept firing until they could all back through the gate to safety.

 

He didn't think he even registered that they were safe until someone took his gun from his hands, and Doc Frasier's face appeared in his line of vision. He had no idea how he ended up on his knees on the gate ramp, and he wanted to ask questions, but he couldn't stop shaking. He could hear people talking and was very vaguely aware of someone calling his name, but responding seemed to just be too much. Instead, he closed his eyes and decided to trust Jack to see to things as he finally let his mind rest.


	2. Clarifications

 

# Chapter Two: Clarifications

 

 

When Tony finally came to, he wasn't immediately sure where he was at. Laying still with his eyes closed, he took a moment to try and place the sounds that he could hear. It was the steady beep of the heart monitor he was hooked up to, and the distinctive smell of every hospital type room he'd ever been in that convinced him that he was in the safety of Doc Frazier's medical rooms. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw the room was mostly empty of anyone not in a bed beside one solitary nurse who seemed to be checking on someone in another bed.

 

Looking around, he eventually found every member of his team. Although, he had to guess that Spencer was the one in the bed that the nurse was attending to as he was the only one he didn't see. He refused to believe that his little brother in everything but blood was anything but alive. Satisfied that things were as ok as they could get and too tired to keep his eyes open for no reason, he let them shut as his mind wandered. He wasn't really surprised when it decided to focus on one Colonel Jack O'Neill.

 

Calling things between himself and the Colonel complicated was something of a huge understatement. The fact that Tony was madly in love with the older man was anything but a secret at least to his team. Leyak often called him a fool and seemed to feel the need to make sure that Tony didn't forget Jack was his greatest weakness.  Love was frowned upon by her father's people where she'd grown up. It was a weakness that was only a danger that could be used against you, and therefore if you ever found the person that was to be your mate, it was anything but a happy moment. Often one mate killed the other, and from that point forward the survivor referred to the dead as their Greatest Weakness.

 

For Leyak, it was a somewhat complicated notion. Because her mother was a different species and had come from an entirely different planet even, her idea of love didn't fully match that of her father's people. It was one of the things that had put her life in danger. So, while she still labeled the person you selected as your life mate as being your Greatest Weakness, she had no urge to kill them. Which was fortunate for Teal'c because Tony was fairly confident the big Jaffa and the smaller petite Demoness were about as close to in love as either of them would admit.

 

For Tony, Jack O'Neill was certainly his Greatest Weakness. Once upon a time when he'd first met John Sheppard he'd thought maybe they could be something more than friends. Only, then John's family took Tony in as a son and brother, and any kind of sexual thoughts completely vanished from his mind. Over the years, he'd wondered if maybe he'd missed something with John. Like, maybe his buddy had been his one chance at happiness, and he'd thrown it away to be a part of the other man's family. That was until he laid eyes on Jack O'Neill for the first time. In that very second, he knew without a doubt that John Sheppard was not his mate, Greatest Weakness, or anything else romantic or sexual. Jack though… Jesus.

 

Tony had such a hard-on for the older man both in the physical and mental sense. Over the handful of years, they'd been working together at SGC, Tony had grown to know him quite well, and found they complemented each other quite nicely. It was just so easy to be with Jack, and if he weren't so sure that the man was horribly in love with Sam Carter, he would have made a move years ago.

 

Or Daniel Jackson….

 

He could be in love with Daniel. Tony wasn't quite sure which one it was. He just knew that he'd seen Jack look at each of them with something more than friendship in his eyes, and talked about them with a level of affection that to Tony suggested he felt something more than just a team. He'd tried to explain it to Leyak once, but she'd just looked at him as if he was a complete moron, before stomping off muttering about stupid humans.

 

"Hey," he heard and quickly opened his eyes to see the man who was on his mind standing next to his bed with an expression on his face that Tony couldn't read.

 

"Thanks for coming," Tony said softly rolling his head towards Jack so that he could look at him better.

 

"I'll always come when you need me," Jack replied with a quiet earnest that made Tony frown as he once again couldn't read his friend as well as he normally could. Before he could question the man though, Doctor Frasier came over interrupting them and giving Jack a reason to escape.

 

"Lt. Commander DiNozzo, I'm glad to see you finally awake," Frasier greeted with a smile he always found comforting. Doc Frasier was one of his more favorite people in SGC. She may not be a demonic type warrior like Leyak, but she was badass in her own right. He'd seen her take on both Hammond and O'Neill if she felt her patients needed it, and more often than not she came out on top. At that particular moment though he wished that she had given them a few more moments though. For some reason, he just felt like something had been about to happen, but her arrival had effectively shoved it back into a box to be stored somewhere.

 

Frowning, he watched Jack slip out of the room after making his excuses. It was only when Frasier spoke that he turned his attention back to her. "He was here almost the entire time you were out."

 

"What?" Tony asked focusing his gaze on her.

 

"Colonel O'Neill," she clarified as she took his blood pressure and then checked his pupils. "He was at your bedside almost the entire time you were out. If General Hammond hadn't called the two of us to his office, he would have been here when you woke up. Well, you look mostly ok, but I would feel better if you stayed here overnight. It's late anyway. Why don't you go back to sleep, and if you still check out ok in the morning I'll let you go."

 

Nodding, Tony closed his eyes and tried to find a reason why Jack would spend hours at his bedside if they were nothing more than friends. When his mind finally became quiet and still as he slipped into sleep, he still hadn't come up with anything.

 

Two weeks later, Tony was making his way up the steps to Jack's front porch with a bakery box in one hand with a grocery bag hanging from his fingers on the same hand, and a six pack of Jack's favorite local brew clutched in his other hand. Lifting the six-pack, Tony used one of the bottom corners to push the doorbell, as he tried to swallow down his nerves. Not for the first time that day, he had to tell himself that he was doing the right thing. He'd been over what Frazier said hundreds of times and just couldn't find a reason why Jack would spend what he'd found out was nearly 20 hours almost non-stop at his bedside in the clinic if he thought of Tony as nothing more than friends.

 

Before he could drive himself mad with another round of questioning himself in his head, Jack opened the door of his house with a frown and a lifted eyebrow. "AJ?"

 

"I thought we should celebrate," Tony said lifting his various offerings higher as if Jack couldn't already see them.

 

"Umm," Jack said as he poked his head out the doorway and looked around. "Am I being punked?"

 

Tony snorted and tired of standing on the porch, shoved his way past Jack and into the house. Having spent quite a bit of time there watching hockey games, college football, and basketball games, or just shooting the shit in the backyard, Tony was very familiar with where everything was and therefore headed right to the kitchen.

 

"Sure, come on in. What are we celebrating?" Jack asked trailing after him.

 

"That depends," Tony hedged as he put the ice cream in the freezer, and the steaks he'd brought to grill later in the refrigerator along with one of those bags of salad and the beer. That just left a couple of potatoes, which he put on the counter. Turning back to the fridge, he pulled out two of the bottles. Twisting the caps off, he turned back around and handed one bottle to Jack who was watching him with a slightly confused expression on his face.

 

"The backup answer is National Pie Day," Tony said carefully before taking a long swallow of beer while Jack continued to study him.

 

"And the…. Not backup answer is?" Jack prodded in that way of his where he acted like he was less intelligent than he was. Tony though practically had a masters in the same thing, and for that reason had never bought Jack's dumb routine.

 

"The fact that my Greatest Weakness saved my life and the lives of my two brothers in everything but blood."

 

Jack's mouth opened, but immediately shut as he stilled before taking a long swallow from the beer bottle himself. Finally, though, he must have decided it was safe to prod further.

 

"Greatest Weakness with lower case letters as in some weird friendly insult, or capital letters like Teal'c uses when he talks about Leyak?"

 

"Capital letters," Tony confirmed as he smiled slightly unable to hold it back any longer. "Definitely capital letters."

 

"Huh," Jack said after taking another swallow. He then moved to set the bottle on the counter just before moving into Tony's space. "So, does that mean we've moved to the portion of the program where we're asking and telling?"

 

Tony's lips twitched again as he looked directly into Jack's brilliant blue eyes as the hope began to bubble inside of him. "That stupid rule was gotten rid of a while back, remember?"

 

"Vaguely," Jack said as he moved to put a hand on the counter on each side of Tony. "Does this mean you're not harboring some long-distance love for John Sheppard?"

 

Tony couldn't help but let out a bark of laugh at the notion of him loving John in that way. Long gone was the insecure boy who'd thought maybe he could love the man who was a better brother than he would have made a lover. "Yes," Tony confirmed carefully as his lips twitched again. "Does this mean you're not harboring some lust for Captain Carter or maybe Daniel Jackson?"

 

This time it was Jack who let loose a chuckle. "Couldn't make up your mind?"

 

Tony just shrugged as he forced himself to be brave enough to settle his hands on Jack's hips. "More like I couldn't figure out how you feel about them. You look at them with something more than friendship or just a team. I just wasn't sure what it was."

 

"Well, I mean, they're family, DiNozzo," Jack pointed out. "My team is really the only family I have. I imagine I look at Sam, Teal'c, and Danny the same way you do Aiden and Spencer Sheppard."

 

Tony made a quiet oh sound before Jack got impatient with waiting and leaned in for a kiss. Not wanting to ask more questions now that he was finally getting what he wanted, Tony curled his arms further around Jack's waist pulling the older man in closer to him. Tilting his head slightly so that he could deepen the kiss, Tony let his mind go quiet as all of his attention shifted to the gloriousness that was the moment he was living.

 

Later that evening, Tony found himself settled on Jack's couch with his back resting comfortably against the older man as they watched Ottawa play the Blackhawks. Every so often, Jack would put a kiss on the crook of his neck making Tony smile. During one of the commercial breaks, Tony decided to breach a subject that had been on his mind since he'd gotten a text from Patrick during dinner.

 

"So, is SG-1 still on stand down?"

 

"Yup," Jack confirmed resting his chin on Tony's shoulder. "You guys are too, right? Teal'c said that he was taking Leyak to Chulak to meet his son and Master Bra'tac."

 

"Yeah," Tony confirmed and decided to just bite the bullet and ask. The worst Jack could say was no. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to go home with me?"

 

"Home?" Jack repeated questioningly. "Where is that, exactly?"

 

"The East Coast," Tony offered pulling away slightly so that he could turn and look at Jack. "Virginia specifically. Patrick asked if I'd accompany Spencer and Aiden home."

 

"Patrick Sheppard?" Jack questioned looking a little uncertain. "I knew you were close with the Sheppard's, but I didn't realize you were that close."

 

"Patrick Sheppard is basically the father I never had," Tony explained carefully as he chewed on his lip for a moment. "When Senior basically tossed me into Military School and forgot about me, Patrick picked up the slack. John's been my best friend for years, and the other three boys, David along with Spencer and Aiden are basically my brothers. I haven't actually seen John since we left Remington Military Academy for various reasons, but  Patrick wouldn't let me fade into the background. The first Thanksgiving at the Naval Academy I didn't go back home. So, when Christmas break came he made sure to send someone to get me. I owe him a lot, Jack."

 

"That's who you were texting at dinner?" Jack questioned even though Tony guessed the older man was fairly confident of the answer already.

 

"Yeah," Tony replied before shrugging. "We've been mostly playing phone tag for the last two weeks. He asked that I come home because he wants to make sure I'm ok. When I told him about you he… He just wants to meet you. Patrick is… protective. It's a little weird."

 

"Weird how?" Jack asked leaning back against the corner of the couch and Tony leaned against the back as he tried to figure out how to answer. "No matter how many years it's been since I've seen Senior, it's always odd to me that some kind of father figure cares enough about me that he worries when I'm hurt and wants to meet the man I love. I don't… I don't always know how to take it. Fortunately, Patrick is used to it by now and has never been anything but patient."

 

"So, this is basically the meeting of the parent?"

 

"Basically," Tony confirmed smiling, "but I'm fairly confident you'll survive."

 

"Any man who can save the planet on multiple occasions can survive Patrick Sheppard's parental protectiveness."

 

"Says you," Jack grumped before nodding as the game resumed. "Book us tickets. Guess it's time I meet the great Patrick Sheppard."

 

Smiling big, Tony leaned in and kissed Jack's cheek before he turned back around to get comfortable again. He'd tell Jack in the morning that they were taking the family jet.


	3. Coming Home

D

 

# Chapter Three: Coming Home

 

Tony headed down the steps of Patrick's private jet chatting to Jack who was following behind him grumbling good-naturedly about the expense. He was in the middle of teasing Jack about being a grumpy ass when he looked to see who was meeting them and saw a familiar person leaning against a black full-sized pickup. Stunned to see the very much unexpected sight, he almost missed a step and ended up jumping down the last couple stairs. The second his feet hit the tarmac though he was off like a shot toward the sight for sore eyes.

 

Somewhere behind him, he could hear Aiden telling Jack to let them be and Spencer muttering something that sounded like Thank God as he then steered Jack toward the other SUV. Tony though was only vaguely aware of all of that. Stopping mere inches away from the man he'd missed like a limb, Tony checked him over to make sure he wasn't missing anything important. Before he could finish though he found himself engulfed in a hug. "AJ, fuck. Missed you, man."

 

"John," Tony half whispered and half whimpered as he returned his brother and best friend's hug. By the time he was ready to pull back Aiden and Spencer were there waiting for a hug from their brother, and Jack was waiting to assure him that he would be fine riding with the Baby Sheppard's as the base had taken to calling Aiden and Spencer.

 

"You get this thing with John worked out, AJ," Jack half ordered, but Tony forgave him because it was what he wanted anyway and knew the older man was used to being in charge. "I'll deal."

 

Happy to obey, Tony patted Jack on the shoulder before heading to sit in the passenger's seat of the truck after retrieving his bag and tossing it into the bed. He knew better than to try and wrestle the keys away from John, and besides that, he was too distracted to drive. Eventually, John got into the truck after promising his brothers he'd spend some time with just the two of them before they each had to go back to their bases. Tony let the silence fill the cab for about the first 20 minutes of their drive, except for the sound of the radio turned to some classic rock station that John had turned on.

 

Eventually, though, he reached out and turned the sound down slightly and turned as much as he could to face his friend. "You gonna tell me why you've been avoiding me for a little over 17 years? Or do I even need to ask since I am sure this has something to do with Patrick."

 

"You chose your side," John shot back and from the expression on his face, Tony knew that this wasn't the conversation his friend wanted to be having. As far as he was concerned though it was tough shit. He wasn't gonna bring this crap to the house. He just hoped that John and Patrick had already worked through enough to call a truce. He let the silence sit heavy in the cab again as he gathered his thoughts and tried to decide how he was going to attack this issue.

 

"When I stepped foot on the Naval Avademy campus, I never expected to see any of you again," Tony finally admitted drawing a quick glare from John that was sharp enough to slice steel and mixed with a healthy dose of surprise. "I figured that I'd been given a good four years of respite from the crap that was my father, and at least I had the memories. The first Thanksgiving was awful. I was one of the only guys on either the football or basketball teams that either didn't get to go home or didn't have someone come visit.

 

"When it came time for Christmas break, I expected a lot of the same. Only, when I got back to my dorm room after my last final, one of Patrick's security people was waiting for me outside of my door, looking out of place surrounded by a bunch of college guys. He advised me that Patrick sent him to make sure I got back home ok, and that was that. When I got to the Manor, Aiden and Spencer hugged me and told me how much they missed me before Patrick took me up to his office. Then he told me that whatever bullshit was going on between him and you was just that, and didn't have anything to do with me. I was told that I was as much his son as any of the other four of you, and he expected that I damned well better stay in touch, and come home for holidays as much as I could."

 

Tony paused to look out the front window as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. After all these years he still remembered how much that had meant to him and how nice Patrick was to him when he lost his shit and just cried in his arms. "I know you're pissed, and I can understand why, but what did you want me to do, John?"

 

"It would be nice if you had remembered what a bastard he is and how much crap he put me through," John snapped back and Tony forced himself not to speak until he could trust himself not to say things that he'd regret later.

 

"I get that your father isn't a saint," Tony said finally after turning back to sit properly in his seat. He wasn't sure he could hold in the things that would turn this conversation ugly otherwise. "He's like every other rich man I've ever met in my life. He thinks that his money can buy anything. He's sacrificed too many moments chasing deals that he thought were more important at the time, and sometimes he forgets that his family aren't his employees. He had your entire life figured out before you even came home from the hospital and resented the fuck out of you when you didn't just tow the line. Mostly because he'd probably not had anyone who threw his own stubbornness back in his face like that before. However, what I also know is the difference between your father and mine."

 

When John just shot him a heated glare, Tony felt himself relax a bit. It wasn't accompanied by some smartass remark and took that as a sign that their friendship might still be salvageable after all the years they'd been apart. "Do you know what that is?" He asked, but continued without waiting for a response.

 

"My father never liked me let alone wanted me. I was something that my mother was to keep out of his sight unless I could be useful. If I got in his way I was met with an insult or put down woth the back of his hand across my face. Your father may not have agreed with your decisions but he never stopped loving you. Your mother and you boys are his entire world. As ruthless as he is in business, he's even more so if someone hurts one of his sons. My father disowned me because he was embarrassed that I'd dared to remind him that he forgotten in a hotel when a business deal fell through. He sent me away from home 2 months after my mother died because he couldn't stand the sight of me. He sent me to military school because he didn't want to accept that maybe some of my attitude problems were his fault. Your father sent you to military school because even though he hated the idea of you being in the military, it was what you wanted.

 

"Did he hope you'd get over it? Of course, he did. He also had you home as much as he could justify it, and if taking me with you was the price he had to pay to get you there he never so much as blinked at the cost. My father was disgusted to hear that I was going into the Navy and tells all his rich friends what an embarrassment I am. The first time I got seriously hurt, he actually told my CO that I'd probably messed something up, and therefore deserved my injuries and too bad they hadn't been worse. The first time you got seriously hurt… that time that your plane crashed when you were in Miramar? Your father canceled all of his appointments and spent a fucking month in a hotel room in San Diego even though he was too ashamed to go see you and you were too fucking pig-headed to admit you wanted to see him. He still wanted to be close to you though just in case and had the nurses call him when you were sleeping so that he could sneak in and see you without you knowing."

 

Tony paused again to take a deep breath and settle his emotions before continuing. "Is your dad a bastard? Yes, he is. Hell, he still scares the crap out of me. I am terrified that I'm gonna walk through those doors in a little bit and he's gonna tell me to turn right back around and not come back because Aiden and Spencer almost died on my watch. But, he and your brothers are the only fucking family I have, John. So, again, I ask what the fuck you expect me to do? Then or now? Was I supposed to be alone and miserable just because you want to be stubborn and cut off your nose to spite your face and mine too apparently? Was it a sin so bad that it deserved fucking seventeen years of shunning from my best motherfucking friend? Was it, John? You fucking prick."

 

The quiet lay heavy in the truck as the vehicle sped down the road. It went on so long that Tony wasn't sure his friend would speak again before they got to the house. When he finally did, he almost jumped from surprise. "Sometimes I'll be laying on my cot in a tent somewhere or in my bunk on a ship sweating my ass off because it's so hot, but all I can feel is cold because I'm so goddamned lonely. Sometimes I still turn wanting to tell you something and startle because you're not standing there. Truth be told I knew that you'd go back or at least expected you to, and was pissed off before you even did it. I could write you a letter because I didn't have to see your face, and if it was a good day I could even call. I knew though if I came to see you that I'd have to deal with all this crap and I just didn't want to admit that maybe it was as much my fault as his. So, I took it out on you because you're my best friend and sometimes I'm a major asshole.

 

"Honestly, dad was right. This thing between him and me is just that, and I should never have tried to put you in the middle. I knew dad saw you as one of his boys as much as he does David, Aiden, Spencer and myself. I knew your father was a bigger bastard than mine and you didn't have anyone else. I just couldn't get over my own hurt feelings because dad was a jackass and by the time I did I didn't know how to make it right. I fucked up, AJ. I'm sorry."

 

Not knowing how to respond, Tony just nodded and patted his friend's shoulder as a signal that all was well. He just hoped that it was all over now and the family could heal. When they finally reached the manor, Tony hurried out of the truck and into the house knowing Jack was already there. As he stepped through the front door the butterflies fluttered in his stomach as always. He had long ago given up on hoping that someday he'd feel like he could come home without worrying that would be the time he wasn't welcomed.

 

"Son," Patrick greeted as he came down from upstairs, and Tony flashed a big smile as always. The older man always made sure to greet him with affection and a hug when he came home. Bastard that he might be, but Patrick had always been more patient with him than most times Tony felt he deserved.

 

"Thank you for getting him here," Tony whispered in the older man's ear only to get a pat on the back and a whispered of course in return. "You met Jack?" He asked as he stepped back when John came up behind him with the bags.

 

"I did," Patrick admitted as the man in question appeared from the direction of the entertainment room with Aiden hot on his heels. Spencer followed not too long after from the library. Something he wasn't even a little bit surprised about.

 

"He's a good man," Patrick offered as Jack moved to Tony's side, and he could tell the older man meant it. "You have chosen well, son."

 

Smiling shyly, he looked over to see Jack blushing faintly. It was a sight that he would always remember and draw up when the times got bad. Later that evening, David came in with his wife and their new baby, and the greetings would begin again. Tony would do his best to ease the hurt between the two eldest of Patrick's sons, but Jack would, in the end, remind him that it was up to them to fix things between them. Eventually, John would be drawn into the SGC, unable to stay away now that he knew his friend and two of his brothers were there. Not long after that Atlantis would be found, Sheppard Industries would win a government contract to work on various projects for the SGC bringing his father and final brother into things.

 

At that moment though, all that mattered was that he had Jack, he had John back, and his chosen father still loved him. No one was cold anymore, as the family's love had warmed them all. Tony would make sure that none of them were ever left out in the cold and alone again.

 

The End!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all who read this, and doubly so for those of you who comment. It is appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Aiden Sheppard (Jared Padalecki)
> 
> Leyak Mer’moyak – Alien (Park Bo Young)


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